The serpent of Eden
by Marian Nightroad
Summary: The serpent of Eden had been entrusted with a single mission: to cause problems, but after four and a half days, he had concluded that there was no reason to hurry. Creation did not stop, and he had found an unexpected pleasure in finding new places to rest, especially since new plant species appeared in his favorite places.


**This fic was written in an attack of inspiration that I had not felt for a long time, I really enjoyed writing this story. I hope you like it and do not hesitate to leave your comments to let me know if you liked it or if there is something I can improve. English is not my first languaje so I'm sorry in advance if there is any mistake.**

* * *

**The serpent of Eden**

By the third day of creation, light had separated from darkness, skies had separated from waters, seas had gathered to reveal the dry land and the vegetation had covered that last one, endowing it with fruits and plants. The animals that would inhabit the earth had not yet been created, but a snake slowly crawled among the plants, hiding his presence under their shadows.

"_Go up there and make some troubles_," he had been told, but Crawley was not sure how or to what he was supposed to cause problems. What did they expect him to do? Crush the plants in its path? Spit poison into the sea? Bite all the fruits of the garden? He didn't think any of those things could pose a real problem; maybe it would be annoying, of course, but nothing that was really important to anyone. So he decided to tour the place, convinced that he should at least know what he was facing.

In his opinion, the garden of Eden was no big deal. Yes, it was full of plants and fruits that looked appetizing and he had to admit that not be sailing in the dark was nice, but it was boring. He couldn't understand why someone would put so much effort into something that would undoubtedly end up getting bored of too. In addition, he had sent four angels to guard the place, as if there was something valuable there that was worth protecting, or as if someone was going to bother to enter there by force just to see a lot of plants. Crawley laughed at the irony, for he himself was that someone who had entered there to… whatever he was going to do. And those angels hadn't even noticed his presence yet, apparently nobody was sure yet of how should do his job.

"I should have stayed in Heaven," said a voice, and Crawley stopped his movements to avoid being noticed.

"Well, it's not that bad here either," said someone else, ignorant of the snake approaching in search of a better viewing angle.

As he thought, in that place there was no one but him and the four angels who guarded it, and all of them were, coincidentally, gathered in the same place. If he hurried, he could inform that the place was unprotected, but what would they do then? Sending an army of demons to the earth was too much effort, besides, his job was to cause trouble, he didn't need help for that.

"Maybe we can give the place to someone else, I remember there were several volunteers to take care of the doors."

At that moment, the three angels who had been talking turned to see the fourth of them, and Crawley soon noticed that he was slightly farther from the others.

"So is it true?" Asked one of the angels, opening his dark eyes with surprise. Something in his voice was unpleasant, although he supposed it was because they were angels, it was normal for him to find all of them unpleasant. "They really sent you here?"

"Maybe they thought we would need help," said another, waving his wings that at first glance didn't seem as imposing as the ones of the others.

Maybe not everyone was so nasty after all. Crawley glanced at each one of the angels, noticing immediately that, although they all dressed alike, there was a clear difference between the three who had spoken and the one they were interrogating, and didn't only refer to their hair too blond and curly.

At first he had thought that the great power he felt was due to the fact that the four angels were reunited, but he could soon notice that all that power belonged to that one angel. As a confirmation to his newly awakened suspicions, the angel in question elegantly waved a flaming sword before his companions.

"There is a reason we were sent here, we must not question the orders of the almighty."

Crawley had to agree, if they kept asking questions they would end up very badly, although that was a good thing for him, downstairs they would be happy to expand their troops. Of course, it was one thing to accept that he was right and another to sympathize with the enemy, which could well be an archangel or a principality, perhaps even a cherub. It really didn't matter, in any case, it had to be an arrogant guy, it wasn't that angels could be, they were angels after all, but it was that _angelic perfection_ what made him hate them even more than just being hereditary enemies.

Crawley saw the other three walk away and he also withdrew, he didn't feel like facing anyone on his first day on earth.

* * *

With the creation of the sun and the moon, the day had become hot and the night too bright for Crawley's taste. It wasn't that it bothered him at all; being a snake, he had enjoyed the sun providing some heat to his body, although after a while the heat became so unbearable that he was forced to crawl into the shadow of a plant to cool down. Perhaps it was not an effort too great, but he hated that his rest was interrupted in that way, especially if in the process he ran into the annoying group of guardians.

That same morning, he had heard the angels chatter about how God had created animals that populated the seas and was planning to create others that did the same with the sky. Crawley had no interest in the animals that were going to inhabit the earth, although he had already had a chance to see some and had to admit that they were amazing, but now he was surprised to hear that the angels had been entrusted with the task of creating new species.

He listened in horror as one of them was preparing to create fish with sharp teeth, while another spoke of huge birds with strong beaks that would feed on fish, and the third proposed a thing called 'lizard', which apparently could survive both inside and out of the water and feed on other animals. It was as if they were planning to confront all the species of creation until only one was left alive to show who had devised the best species, and Crawley wondered why, being that the only demon there was him, he hadn't even imagined anything like that.

"Where is Aziraphale?" Asked one of them, and the snake realized that it was not the first time that the guardian of the Eastern Gate was not reunited with the rest. He hadn't seen him since that first time, in fact.

"He must be busy."

"Maybe he decided to leave, he's a principality, I doubt he would have troubles getting a reallocation."

"_A principality_," Crawley thought, satisfied that he had been right, but he was also surprised at how inept those three were. It was amazing that they couldn't notice the presence of one of them even if it was so close. Or perhaps it was supposed that only demons could feel the angels and vice versa, although that made it even worse, for even being three they had not noticed the presence of a demon just a few steps away from them. They were definitely inept.

"I don't know, I thought he liked his job here."

After that last comment, a chorus of angelic laughter erupted in front of him, and Crawley decided that it was the most disgusting thing he had witnessed in a long time as he crawled away as far as possible from the tortuous sound.

* * *

The serpent of Eden had been entrusted with a single mission: to cause problems, but after four and a half days, he had concluded that there was no reason to hurry. He had learned, with the passing of the morning of that fifth day, that the sun changed position all the time, so that if he found a comfortable place under some plant, he could enjoy the warm for a while and later this would be replaced by a pleasant freshness when the sun had moved enough to cast the shadow of the plant on it, that's it, he didn't have to move or find another place to rest. He didn't have to, but he did it anyway. Creation didn't stop any moment, and he had found an unexpected pleasure in finding new places to rest, always under some of the new plant species.

Of course, that didn't stop him from having preferences and he always ended up returning to one of his favorite places to rest, ready to meet some new species he might be surprised at. It was on one of those visits to one of those few places that Crawley saw him. The principality, Aziraphale, he remembered they called him, was crouched over what appeared to be a new sprout. His right hand held the sword with disinterest, but it was his left hand that performed the miracle.

Before the snake's eyes, a plant grew strong and leafy. Its green leaves seemed to glow and its roots extended to the earth as if they knew that was their place. He could see the angel smile while stroking one of the leaves of the newly created plant and then stand up and leave, leaving behind not only a bunch of fresh green leaves but also some white flowers that bloomed to enhance the beauty of the new plant.

Crowley had noticed before that the newer plants little or nothing resembled the first ones. They were more colorful, less monotonous and, unlike the first, had even more striking flowers. For a moment he had believed that the almighty had had an attack of _artistic inspiration_, but then everything made sense, since it was none other than the angel who had created those new species.

Another thing that he had noticed, was that these new species appeared in their favorite places to rest, although rather it was the opposite, because obviously it was not that the angel was creating these new species in the places that Crawley most enjoyed, he didn't even know about his existence after all, it was that he enjoyed those places because there was always some new species of plant.

Motivated by his usual curiosity, that same curiosity that had caused him to fall, Crawley began to follow the angel through the garden, keeping a distance that would prevent him from noticing his presence but at the same time allowing him to see what he was doing. And he had been busy. Unlike the other angels, who wasted time talking about the animals they were going to create and trying to explain why it would be the best species of all, Aziraphale was dedicated to creating in silence, endowing the garden of majestic plants of a number of shapes and colors, taking his time to admire his creations with such affection, that Crawley wondered if the almighty would love his own creations in that same way.

For the first time in those five days, Crawley found something he enjoyed as much or more than resting in the shadows.

* * *

On the morning of the sixth day, Crawley woke up feeling an intense heat that burned his scales. He had never slept before and, although he had to admit that he had enjoyed it as he had never enjoyed anything before, waking up was a completely different story. His body felt awkward, his mind was fuzzy and although he had wanted to move to another place using his powers, he was not awake enough to concentrate on that. He had no choice but to wait until be completely awake under the hot rays of the sun, but before he could continue cursing the situation, a pleasant shadow completely covered him.

When his eyes returned to focus on reality and his head came out from the center of his curled body, he found himself directly with a plant he had never seen before, of bright scarlet leaves with green edges. It was so peculiar that he would have spent a long time contemplating it if it were not because his eyes met those of the angel he had been following, even more peculiar. His bright blue eyes with sparkles as golden as the sun itself remained fixed on him, not as if he were watching his adversary but with the purest curiosity. His sword was resting on the trunk of a tree, quite far from them, so he didn't know if he was confusing it with an ordinary animal or really had no intention of facing him.

"Hey, I haven't seen you before, I suppose you're one of those '_beasts that will populate the earth_', there are many new animals since this morning," greeted the angel, and Crawley knew immediately that he was a bad liar. "You like it?"

Faced with that question, the snake doubted if he should answer, or if he even hoped he would, since as far as he knew no other animal spoke. Maybe he could understand them. Maybe he just wanted to talk to someone, since the other angels didn't seem interested in talking to him.

"The truth is…" Aziraphale continued, confirming his theory that he was a bad liar, "that I have seen how much you enjoy sleeping in the shade, and since they entrusted me to create new species, I decided to focus on the vegetation. I'm sure that the others will do a great job with animals."

The angel smiled, but Crawley was sure that although he was being honest, there was something else he wasn't saying but that was evident in his words. How much he wanted to tell him how wrong he was about those animals.

"You know, they thought that creating plants was silly, that it's boring to create 'lifeless' things, but, oh, these plants do have life! Why else would the almighty have ordered them to bear fruit and reproduce? It's just a little different, instead of eating they feed on sunlight; when the rain is invented, they will absorb it from the ground with their roots and… excuse me, I'm talking too much. I have to go back to the wall, I hope you are enjoying the new plants."

The angel said goodbye and walked away at Crawley's watchful eye, while he tried to process all the information he had received and wondered if he had understood correctly, if that guy was really creating the plants for him. Well, not just for him, to shade him and the other animals.

The demon already knew that the plants were alive, he could feel them _breathing _when he was close to them, he was even able to smell their vital functions, what was not expected, was that they were the creation of an angel, of that particular one. Of course, God had created the first species, but after he commissioned his guardians to continue the creation, it was obvious that some had done a lousy job while others, _another_, corrected himself, had created true wonders.

Being honest, he never expected that one of those angels could create something so beautiful, much more than all those beasts that were getting bigger and wilder since they started populating the earth. Crawley had even seen how they ate each other, as if the angels were looking for the most dangerous creature to place on the cusp of the food chain.

But that angel was different, just as his creations were. Yes, it was the first time he saw him creating a plant, although he was sure that he could tell with the naked eye which had been his work, but before he had seen him creating small furry animals, others, much smaller, had bright colors and were able to fly. He also remembered seeing things that shone at night, reminding him of the stars that adorned the night sky. Apparently not everything in creation was so boring after all.

It was not long before the first men appeared and Crawley finally found a way to fulfill their duty to cause problems. After they were expelled from the garden, the angels were called back to heaven because there was nothing to protect anymore; he would surely return to hell to report what he had done and wait for a new assignment.

However, an angel had stayed behind and, while joining Aziraphale on the wall, showing himself to him for the first time in his human form, Crawley decided that he was really in no hurry to go back downstairs.

* * *

When Crowley woke up, curled up in his snake form in his own private garden inside his flat, he had almost forgotten that dream completely. Almost, because in reality it was not a dream but a memory of thousands of years ago, at the beginning of time. He was going to recover his human form immediately, willing to _talk _to his plants about the many times he had told them that he hated being disturbed by the sun when he was asleep, but stopped when he realized he had been sleeping under a plant identical to the one that Aziraphale had created over him that day in the Eden.

Not only was it identical, it was neither more nor less than that same plant, huge and leafy after six thousand years of care. It was his second favorite place to sleep, just after the angel's arms. Maybe one day he would tell him that he had kept the plant. Surely, Aziraphale didn't even remember it.

The sound of a blow brought him out of his thoughts, reminding him that he was not alone.

"Crowley, my dear, tea is ready," Aziraphale announced from somewhere else in the apartment, presumably the kitchen. Crowley recovered his human form in the blink of an eye before going to meet him, but then he decided that there was no reason to wait to tell him, he would do it that same day, at that same moment.

"Hey, angel," he called, and waited for him to meet him in the garden before continuing, "remember that plant you created in the Eden when we first spoke?"

"Of course, I…"

Before he could continue speaking, Crowley stepped aside to allow him to see the plant under which he had been sleeping just moments before.

"I can't believe it," Aziraphale whispered, gasping, "it's amazing that it's still alive after all these years."

"Yes, well, it's not exactly the same plant," he lied, looking away in a failed attempt to hide his embarrassment, which threatened to illuminate his face with a soft carmine color. Only then did he remember that he was not wearing his dark glasses, so that he could see his eyes perfectly.

"Oh, nonsense," he complained, crouching down so he could better observe that plant and stroking its leaves with the same softness he had done just after it was created. "It can't be another plant, Crowley, it's impossible."

"How can you be so sure?"

"There was no other plant like this, that is, there shouldn't be… this plant… I created it just for you. I didn't think you would keep it."

The demon was speechless, Aziraphale was not looking at him, but he knew that smile that appeared on his lips was destined for him and he could see on his face the same blush that surely showed his. Not even knowing that he had always been right was enough to make him recover from the impression.

"Come on, the tea is going to get cold," he whispered, offering his hand to help him stand up while avoiding at all costs that their eyes made contact.

The short path that separated them from the kitchen, both had tried to look the other way as they walked still holding hands, intertwining their fingers with the same nerves of the first time.

Crowley never thought that he would have created that plant for him even knowing that he was a demon; he must know, for he had seen him roam the garden long before the animals were created.

Aziraphale was just one step behind him, not knowing how to react to what he had just discovered; he never thought he would keep that gift for so long, although, if he thought about it carefully, all the plants he kept in his home had been his own creations. For a moment, he wondered if Crowley knew that he had created all those plants, but the soft squeeze in his hand and the smile he gave him shortly afterwards told him that he already knew the answer.


End file.
